Old Joe’s Almanac: The Jaws of Doom

Created by Birmingham council leader Sir Albert Bore at the beginning of 2013, the Jaws of Doom is a shameless copy of Barnet Council’s Graph of Doom, projecting the impact of cuts in government grant against increasing demand for public services.

The jaws began by suggesting Birmingham faced a £600 million gap between 2010-11 and 2016-17. But during the course of the year those jaws kept getting wider and wider. By December 2013, the gap had hit £825 million.

Naturally, the figures only stand up if projections of cuts in government grant are correct. But that hasn’t stopped Sir Albert from producing the jaws at every conceivable public meeting and interview. The future for this depiction of Armageddon is surely limited. Sooner or later, the jaws will widen so far that the whole edifice will come tumbling down, along with Birmingham City Council.